Light-Gated Synthetic Protocells for Plasmon-Enhanced Chemiosmotic Gradient Generation and ATP Synthesis.

Herein, we present a light-gated protocell model made of plasmonic colloidal capsules (CCs) assembled with bacteriorhodopsin for converting solar energy into electrochemical gradients to drive the synthesis of energy-storage molecules. This synthetic protocell incorporated an important intrinsic property of noble metal colloidal particles, namely, plasmonic resonance. In particular, the near-field coupling between adjacent metal nanoparticles gave rise to strongly localized electric fields and resulted in a broad absorption in the whole visible spectra, which in turn promoted the flux of photons to bacteriorhodopsin and accelerated the proton pumping kinetics.

Iono-Elastomer-Based Wearable Strain Sensor with Real-Time Thermomechanical Dual Response.

An ultrastretchable iono-elastomer with resistance sensitive to both elongation strain and temperature has been developed by hierarchical self-assembly of an end functionalized triblock copolymer in a protic ionic liquid (ethylammonium nitrate) followed by cross-linking. Small-angle X-ray scattering experiments in situ with uniaxial elongation reveal a nanoscale microstructural transition of the hierarchically self-assembled cross-linked micelles that is responsible for the material's remarkable mechanical and ionic conductivity responses. The results show that the intermicelle distance extends along the deformation direction while the micelles organize into a long-range ordered face-centered-cubic structure during the uniaxial elongation.

Crude-Oil-Repellent Membranes by Atomic Layer Deposition: Oxide Interface Engineering.

Crude oil fouling on membrane surfaces is a persistent, crippling challenge in oil spill remediation and oilfield wastewater treatment. In this research, we present how a nanosized oxide coating can profoundly affect the anti-crude-oil property of membrane materials. Select oxide coatings with a thickness of ∼10 nm are deposited conformally on common polymer membrane surfaces by atomic layer deposition to significantly mitigate fouling during filtration processes.

Janus Membranes: Creating Asymmetry for Energy Efficiency.

Membranes are recognized as a key component in many environment and energy-related applications, but conventional membranes are challenged to satisfy the growing demand for ever more energy-efficient processes. Janus membranes, a novel class with asymmetric properties on each side, have recently emerged and represent enticing opportunities to address this challenge. With an inner driving force arising from their asymmetric configuration, Janus membranes are appealing for enhancing energy efficiency in a variety of membrane processes by promoting the desired transport.

A subwavelength resolution microwave/6.3 GHz camera based on a metamaterial absorber.

The design, fabrication and characterization of a novel metamaterial absorber based camera with subwavelength spatial resolution are investigated. The proposed camera is featured with simple and lightweight design, easy portability, low cost, high resolution and sensitivity, and minimal image interference or distortion to the original field distribution. The imaging capability of the proposed camera was characterized in both near field and far field ranges.

A negative working potential supercapacitor electrode consisting of a continuous nanoporous Fe-Ni network.

A new class of electrochemical electrodes operating in a negative voltage window has been developed by sintering chemically prepared Fe-Ni nanoparticles into a porous nanoscale mixture of an Fe-rich BCC Fe(Ni) phase and a Ni-rich FCC Fe-Ni phase. The selective conversion of the Fe-rich phase to hydroxides provides the electrochemically active component of the electrodes while the Ni-rich phase provides high conductivity and structural stability. The compositionally optimized electrodes exhibit a specific capacitance in excess of 350 F g(-1) (all normalizations are to the total electrode mass rather than the much smaller electrochemically active mass) and retain more than 85% of their maximum specific capacitance after 2000 charging/discharging cycles.

Designing and tuning magnetic resonance with exchange interaction.

Exchange interaction at the interface between magnetic layers exhibits significant contribution to the magnetic resonance frequency. The in situ tuning of the resonance frequency, as large as 10 GHz, is demonstrated in a spintronics microwave device through manipulating the interface exchange interaction.

A universal electromagnetic energy conversion adapter based on a metamaterial absorber.

On the heels of metamaterial absorbers (MAs) which produce near perfect electromagnetic (EM) absorption and emission, we propose a universal electromagnetic energy conversion adapter (UEECA) based on MA. By choosing the appropriate energy converting sensors, the UEECA is able to achieve near 100% signal transfer ratio between EM energy and various forms of energy such as thermal, DC electric, or higher harmonic EM energy. The inherited subwavelength dimension and the EM field intensity enhancement can further empower UEECA in many critical applications such as energy harvesting, photoconductive antennas, and nonlinear optics.

Transmission line model and fields analysis of metamaterial absorber in the terahertz band.

Metamaterial (MM) absorber is a novel device to provide near-unity absorption to electromagnetic wave, which is especially important in the terahertz (THz) band. However, the principal physics of MM absorber is still far from being understood. In this work, a transmission line (TL) model for MM absorber was proposed, and with this model the S-parameters, energy consumption, and the power loss density of the absorber were calculated.